Raven S55
57 on the U.S. register. Built from 1973 to 1994; half of them date from 1980 or earlier. New Jersey has the most (7). 30% are registered to companies, flight schools, clubs and other organisations; the rest to individuals, who are not named here at this time.
About the S55 from the FAA's model table
Where they are owner's state
Who owns them registrant type
By owner type, as a table
| aircraft | share | |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | 32 | 56% |
| Corporation | 11 | 19% |
| Co-owned | 8 | 14% |
| LLC | 4 | 7% |
| Partnership | 2 | 4% |
Versions as the FAA records them · click one to list only those aircraft
| Version | Registered | Built | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| S55A | 57 | 1973 to 1994 | 100.0% |
When they were built by decade · 15 with no year on file
Airworthiness certificate class
By airworthiness certificate, as a table
| aircraft | share | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 55 | 96% |
| None on file | 1 | 2% |
| Experimental | 1 | 2% |
Biggest operators companies, schools and clubs
Balloon Quest INC2Wiederkehr Balloons International1Whelan Farms Airport LLC1Tiffin Aire INC1Tewksbury Balloon Adventures LLC1Minnetonka Balloon CO INC1Majestic Adventures INC1Jd Adventures LLC1Hunterdon Ballooning INC1H I Flight INC1Costello Paul e1Brookside Ballooning LLC1
Largest fleets, as a table
| aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Balloon Quest INC | 2 |
| Wiederkehr Balloons International | 1 |
| Whelan Farms Airport LLC | 1 |
| Tiffin Aire INC | 1 |
| Tewksbury Balloon Adventures LLC | 1 |
| Minnetonka Balloon CO INC | 1 |
| Majestic Adventures INC | 1 |
| Jd Adventures LLC | 1 |
| Hunterdon Ballooning INC | 1 |
| H I Flight INC | 1 |
| Costello Paul e | 1 |
| Brookside Ballooning LLC | 1 |
Fleet pages: Balloon Quest INC · Tiffin Aire INC
Accident history NTSB records · 12 cases since 1982, 0 fatal
2001-04-28DEN01LA092 · S55A N40555 · accident near Albuquerque, NM · minor injuries
1996-07-05FTW96LA292 · S55A N4273Y · accident near Gunnison, CO · serious injuries
1992-10-08FTW93LA010 · S55A N57115 · accident near Albuquerque, NM · serious injuries
1988-08-27DEN88LA201 · S55A N779TV · accident near Fort Morgan, CO · serious injuries
1988-07-04CHI88LA158 · S55A N4186E · accident near Mishawaka, IN · serious injuries
1988-02-28DEN88LA081 · S55A N81DS · accident near Los Lunas, NM · serious injuries
1987-07-12CHI87LA167 · S55A N40363 · accident near Springfield, MI · serious injuries
1985-01-13DEN85LA078 · S55A N81DS · accident near Littleton, CO · no injuries
The 8 most recent of 12 cases where the NTSB's make and model match this family's versions. Each aircraft's own page also shows its record. How this model compares with others, with the fleet taken into account: Accidents by model in Aviation Analytics.
Questions people ask answers refresh every morning
How many Raven S55 aircraft are registered in the U.S.?
57 as of October 26, 2026, counting 1 version the FAA records separately.
Which state has the most Raven S55s?
New Jersey, with 7.
Who owns the Raven S55?
30% are registered to companies, flight schools, clubs and other organisations; the rest to individuals and co-owners, who are not named on this site at this time.
When were the Raven S55s on the register built?
Between 1973 and 1994; half of them in 1980 or earlier.
How many Raven S55 accidents has the NTSB recorded?
12 accidents and incidents since 1982, 0 of them fatal. A model flown more shows more; the accident analytics compare models per thousand registered.
What is the Raven S55 made of?
A hot-air balloon: a coated nylon envelope, stainless-steel cables, and a wicker or aluminium basket under a propane burner. The FAA's type certificate data sheet is the authority for any one model.
What the FAA has certified, ordered and been told about the Raven S55 the component layer
A hot-air balloon: a coated nylon envelope, stainless-steel cables, and a wicker or aluminium basket under a propane burner. No FAA order in the current files names this model. Operators and repair shops have filed 2 failure reports with the FAA since 1996, 2 of them in the last ten years: about 1.8 a year for every 100 aircraft on the register; the system most often named is electrical power.
Failure reports 2 since 1996 · what operators and shops told the FAA
Failure reports by year, as a table
| reports | |
|---|---|
| 96 | 1 |
| 03 | 1 |
By system
Failure reports by system, as a table
| reports | share | |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical power | 1 | 50% |
| Airframe structure | 1 | 50% |
Sources: the FAA's type certificate data sheets, airworthiness directives, supplemental type certificates, special conditions and special airworthiness information bulletins (Dynamic Regulatory System), and the FAA's service difficulty reports. A failure report is what an operator or repair station chose to file; the counts show reporting as much as reliability, and larger and commercial fleets report more. How the systems are grouped.
Connections how the S55 links to the rest of the register
Design
- Raven 106 aircraft on the register
- Raven S55A 57 registered
- Built of fabric and wicker
Where they are
- New Jersey 7 of these aircraft
- California 6 of these aircraft
- Michigan 5 of these aircraft
- New Mexico 4 of these aircraft
- Minnesota 4 of these aircraft
Biggest operators
- Balloon Quest INC 2 of these aircraft
- Wiederkehr Balloons International 1 of these aircraft
- Whelan Farms Airport LLC 1 of these aircraft
- Tiffin Aire INC 1 of these aircraft
- Tewksbury Balloon Adventures LLC 1 of these aircraft
Record
- NTSB accidents and incidents involving the S55 12 cases since 1982 · 0 fatal
Airworthiness
- Failure reports filed on the S55 2 reports since 1995
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/model/raven/s55.json.
Aircraft newest certificates first · 57
| Tail no. | Maker and model | Owner and base | Certificate | Registered | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N1080R | Raven S55A |
Balloon Quest INC Fenton, Michigan |
Standard | 2025-12-16 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N925LV | Raven S55A |
Standard | 2025-10-18 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes | |
| N4026L | Raven S55A |
Co-owned owner New Mexico |
Standard | 2025-08-06 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N4271R | Raven S55A |
Co-owned owner South Dakota |
Standard | 2024-08-22 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N4192M | Raven S55A |
Whelan Farms Airport LLC Bethlehem, Connecticut |
Standard | 2024-07-10 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N1239R | Raven S55A |
Individual owner Texas |
Standard | 2024-06-20 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N2804U | Raven S55A |
H I Flight INC Lexington, Kentucky |
Standard | 2024-01-14 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N27TM | Raven S55A |
Individual owner Nevada |
Standard | 2021-10-14 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N1310R | Raven S55A |
Individual owner California |
Standard | 2020-07-08 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N79FA | Raven S55A |
Tiffin Aire INC Tiffin, Ohio |
Standard | 2020-02-07 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N65AB | Raven S55A |
Individual owner Indiana |
Standard | 2018-12-27 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N1083R | Raven S55A |
Individual owner Oklahoma |
Standard | 2018-10-17 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N28071 | Raven S55A |
Individual owner Wisconsin |
Standard | 2018-04-03 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N42702 | Raven S55A |
Individual owner New Jersey |
Standard | 2017-11-16 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N1105R | Raven S55A |
Brookside Ballooning LLC Pennington, New Jersey |
Standard | 2017-09-13 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N27CR | Raven S55A |
Individual owner Kentucky |
Standard | 2017-06-02 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N4195C | Raven S55A |
Individual owner New Mexico |
None on file | 2017-05-10 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N25QL | Raven S55A |
Hunterdon Ballooning INC Lebanon, New Jersey |
Standard | 2017-05-09 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N42720 | Raven S55A |
Individual owner California |
Standard | 2016-12-19 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N4401Y | Raven S55A |
Majestic Adventures INC South Lyon, Michigan |
Standard | 2015-08-21 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N9178Z | Raven S55A |
Tewksbury Balloon Adventures LLC Whitehouse Station, New Jersey |
Standard | 2015-06-12 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N5563L | Raven S55A |
Individual owner California |
Standard | 2014-11-06 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N5707D | Raven S55A |
Individual owner New Jersey |
Standard | 2013-10-23 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N4274D | Raven S55A |
Individual owner California |
Standard | 2013-08-06 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N2806D | Raven S55A |
Individual owner Pennsylvania |
Standard | 2012-06-25 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N976RE | Raven S55A |
Co-owned owner Oregon |
Standard | 2011-12-05 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N4226F | Raven S55A |
Individual owner New Mexico |
Standard | 2011-10-26 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N4183G | Raven S55A |
Balloon Quest INC Fenton, Michigan |
Standard | 2008-01-14 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N74RS | Raven S55A |
Co-owned owner Massachusetts |
Standard | 2007-05-31 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N713DC | Raven S55A |
Co-owned owner Oregon |
Standard | 2007-03-29 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N4194K | Raven S55A |
Individual owner Missouri |
Standard | 2006-03-08 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N2808C | Raven S55A |
Individual owner New Mexico |
Standard | 2005-07-19 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N21KS | Raven S55A |
Air Ventures Balloon Rides INC Chester Springs, Pennsylvania |
Standard | 2004-08-28 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N27882 | Raven S55A |
Individual owner Minnesota |
Standard | 2003-08-25 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N5572A | Raven S55A |
Jd Adventures LLC Piscataway, New Jersey |
Standard | 2001-03-20 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N4196B | Raven S55A |
Costello Paul e Topeka, Kansas |
Experimental | 2000-11-16 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N5716N | Raven S55A |
Individual owner West Virginia |
Standard | 2000-09-25 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N1162R | Raven S55A |
Co-owned owner Colorado |
Standard | 1999-10-12 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N3015R | Raven S55A |
Individual owner New Jersey |
Standard | 1999-06-21 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N4224U | Raven S55A |
Individual owner New York |
Standard | 1997-05-19 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N4042S | Raven S55A |
Individual owner California |
Standard | 1992-11-19 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N55611 | Raven S55A |
Individual owner Florida |
Standard | 1992-10-19 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N127LZ | Raven S55A |
Individual owner Texas |
Standard | 1991-10-30 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N41000 | Raven S55A |
Individual owner Michigan |
Standard | 1991-07-31 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N5724A | Raven S55A |
Individual owner Colorado |
Standard | 1991-02-15 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N2810D | Raven S55A |
Co-owned owner Kansas |
Standard | 1990-12-12 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N5717H | Raven S55A |
Aero Electric INC Boulder City, Nevada |
Standard | 1988-02-28 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N4007R | Raven S55A |
Co-owned owner Arizona |
Standard | 1987-06-16 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N51548 | Raven S55A |
Air Albert Lea Albert Lea, Minnesota |
Standard | 1985-02-08 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N4274C | Raven S55A |
Wiederkehr Balloons International Hugo, Minnesota |
Standard | 1983-10-20 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N41876 | Raven S55A |
Individual owner New York |
Standard | 1982-05-12 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N4024G | Raven S55A |
Individual owner Colorado |
Standard | 1981-12-29 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N1161R | Raven S55A |
Individual owner California |
Standard | 1981-10-08 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N79UW | Raven S55A |
Individual owner Michigan |
Standard | 1980-10-08 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N5562K | Raven S55A |
Minnetonka Balloon CO INC Chanhassen, Minnesota |
Standard | 1980-08-26 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N3009R | Raven S55A |
Individual owner Maryland |
Standard | 1979-01-26 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |
| N1129R | Raven S55A |
Individual owner Indiana |
Standard | 1976-10-20 | ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes |